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Gannett to stop broadcasting on Dish if ad-skipping feature not removed

"Gannett's demands translate into more than a 300 percent increase..."

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp said the broadcasting arm of newspaper publisher Gannett Co Inc has threatened to withdraw broadcasting on the satellite TV provider if it does not block the commercial-skipping feature on its digital video recorders or agree to pay massive penalties.

If Gannett Broadcasting lets the current broadcasting contract expire without renewal, Dish customers in 19 cities including Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Denver, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Phoenix and Sacramento would lose various ABC, CBS and NBC-affiliated stations, Dish said in a statement.

"Gannett's demands translate into more than a 300 percent rate increase, which would likely result in higher monthly fees for consumers."

Dish offered to pay Gannett market rates, including an increase of more than 200 percent above current rates, and offered to extend the transmission contract during negotiations, which Gannett has refused, the No. 2 satellite provider said. ...

There is a dispute over two NBC denver stations 9 & 20 as well. Personally and I mean personally I am tired of my bill going up each year to the extent that I may just start hopping back and forth between Dish & DirecTV every two years. What I get is a brand new installation with the latest equipment and at least a 1 year discount under a two year contract.

I support Dish playing hard ball with Gannet, AMC networks and others that may come up in the future provided it keeps my bill lower than DirecTV or cable. The content providers have needed a big wake up call for over a decade and maybe lossing 20 million customers in their revenue stream may provide that. This is not going to be the same goal for everyone, some people are willing to pay whatever the cost will be.

I read over and over again that neither cable or satellite are growing at rates they did 10 years ago. Many wonder if the subscriber rates will actually start falling. Keep in mind that many of the younger folk buying their first home are choosing streaming sources over satellite or cable and pay as you go may be the only audience left for content providers if they don't change their position. I think a perfect example of this is the music industry. When was the last time anyone bought a CD? Now days people buy the specific songs they want.

Me either... we just keep getting fatter because we don't have to get off the couch to change the channel... now our thumbs are getting fatter because we don't have to hit the forward button 5 times every 15 minutes. Yeah it's a nice "free" feature for us couch potatoes, but if it causes a 1 cent increase in cost, I'd rather not have it. I'd rather see better guide interface (like delete 10 PTAT shows at once; and more folder options).

I just don't understand the strategy behind openly inviting/encouraging lawsuits and strained business relationships with things like the Hopper.

Other cities that could be affected by a blockage are St. Louis, Little Rock, Tampa, Jacksonville, Macon, Bangor and Portland, Me, Grand Rapids, Buffalo, Greensboro, NC, Columbia, SC, and Knoxville,TN.

That's a ton of viewers, read 'ad revenues' for Gannett to forfeit and, potentially, a lot of programming content, read 'subscribers' for Dish to lose.

While I think there are two issues in play over the dispute, cost to carry and commercial skipping, then why not offer the commercial skipping service as a fee option for those that want to pay it. Free Pandora includes commercials, $36 a year gives you commercial free music. I personally wouln't pay for add skipping if its going to raise my bill.

Happy late anniversary to us Nick! We joined in the same yy/mm/dd. Still miss dbsforums, started there before talk was born.

But it also doesn't make much sense to me the other way either. The customers that are likely to have a DVR (let alone a Hopper), are more likely to not watch commercials anyway, except maybe sports. How many people actually watch a recording and watch commercials? Other than stopping for an interesting looking commercial, watching it then continuing to fast forward, I don't really see it.

...except those times when you shouldn't. That content isn't owned by the service provider. It's a retransmission agreement, not a license to edit out a valuable source of revenue. They've already taken a hit from the usage of DVR's. Automatically skipping commercials just makes matters worse.

If you think about it, Gannett et al, should be offering to REDUCE rates in exchange for disabling Hopper, not blackmailing and extorting higher rates among threats.

This is 2012. People don't like being forced to watch commercials. They're appreciative of tools to help make them go away.

...so your solution is for content providers to accept less in retrans fees AND voluntarily give up ad revenue? That doesn't make any sense. What you are proposing would have a direct impact on the quality of their product.

Say What?, I spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years on local commercials for my stereo store. Why should I do that if companies make it easier and easier to skip them?

Commercials are effective advertising for local retailers and restaurants. They are a profit center for local television stations and cable service providers. When they are PSAs, and many TV stations donate time to local non-profits to help their causes, they are even good for the community. The Red Cross needs to get out the word that there will be a blood drive and they will be at these churches and schools on the following days.

The commercial skip feature of the Hopper can have effects down to the neighborhood bar which wants to let people know it has a 2 for 1 Happy Hour every weeknight.

As a guy who has created a lot of TV commercials, I am definitely pro-commercial.

I agree with Hoosier. It doesn't make much sense to push the envelope to this level. Without Hopper, there are DVR customers who may get lazy when skipping commercials. I know that I sometimes forget, or I'll see something interesting and watch. With the Hopper, there is 0 chance an ad is going to be watched.